Xor or single ended?

That should read "rca" and "xlr"!!

A phono cartridge is actually an inherently balanced design - it has  a separate hot for left and right, separate grounds for each, and a shield. That makes phono connections ideal for balanced phono preamps, because a truly balanced (differential) phono preamp will have higher gain and lower noise than a single-ended preamp, all other things being equal. Please note that you can have a balanced phono connection using RCA connectors; it's the circuit, not the connectors, that make it balanced.

Thank you Cleeds for a clear and informative answer!

Jake